Investments

The Pillar Leading Ho Chi Minh City into a New Era of Development

With a clear vision for the future, Ho Chi Minh City has embarked on a transformative journey. The city's focus on services and high-tech industries has designated the former Binh Duong area as the hub for cutting-edge industrial and technological advancements, while the Ba Ria-Vung Tau region harnesses the potential of the blue economy. This strategic orientation paves the way for a dynamic and innovative metropolis, harnessing the power of technology and service excellence to drive sustainable growth.

Administrator

25 August, 2025

A corner of Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: Trung Tuyen/VNA)

Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s largest economic, industrial, and service center, serving as the driving force for the development of the key economic region of the South.

According to the post-merger orientation model, the central area of Ho Chi Minh City prioritizes services and high technology, the Binh Duong area (formerly) becomes the capital of industry-high technology, and the Ba Ria-Vung Tau area (formerly) develops into a marine economic center.

With this clear division of roles, new-generation industry must be the pillar leading Ho Chi Minh City into a new era of development.

Great potential but also many bottlenecks

Before the merger, Ho Chi Minh City had a tradition of developing industrial parks very early, with many concentrated in Thu Duc, Binh Tan, Tan Phu, and Binh Chanh districts.

The system of industrial parks in the old Ho Chi Minh City mainly oriented towards modernization, focusing on clean, light industry, and high technology.

Meanwhile, Binh Duong is considered the driving force for the development of processing and manufacturing industries and logistics, with prominent industrial parks such as VSIP, Song Than, and My Phuoc.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau, on the other hand, has a unique advantage in seaports and energy infrastructure, making it the main destination for heavy industries, petrochemicals, and large-scale cargo logistics.

VSIP 2 expanded industrial park. (Photo: Huy Hung/VNA)

According to economic experts (Associate Professor Dr. Tran Ha Minh Quan and Associate Professor Dr. Vo Thi Ngoc Thuy, UEH.ISB, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics), before the merger, the industrial sector structure in each locality was localized and individual.

Specifically, Ho Chi Minh City mainly developed light industry, high technology, and logistics services; Binh Duong led the country in manufacturing and processing and supporting industries; while Ba Ria-Vung Tau stood out with heavy industry, petrochemicals, and port advantages.

This fragmentation creates advantages for separate specialization but has not achieved the total regional effect due to a lack of linkage and strategic coordination.

After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City became the largest integrated industrial economic region in the country with a total of 61 industrial parks, export processing zones, and industrial clusters, distributed in three main areas: old Ho Chi Minh City, old Binh Duong, and old Ba Ria-Vung Tau. This structure creates a diverse industrial space network in terms of scale, function, and strategic location.

The output of the processing and manufacturing industry in Ho Chi Minh City after the merger accounts for more than 30% of the whole country, and the cargo throughput of the port system reaches over 250 million tons/year, with an average growth rate of 8%/year in the period of 2020-2024. The total accumulated FDI capital in this area exceeds 90 billion USD, accounting for about 50% of the country’s total FDI capital.

The merger of Ho Chi Minh City with the two key industrial localities of Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau marks a strategic turning point in restructuring the development space of the Southeast region.

According to Mr. Bui Ta Hoang Vu, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, although industry is not only one of the largest pillars of the city’s economy but also a driving force for the development of other sectors.

However, there are also many big bottlenecks hindering the breakthrough of Ho Chi Minh City’s industry, typically logistics costs still account for 16-20% of product costs, higher than the regional average.

A corner of Cai Mep port cluster. (Photo: Doan Manh Duong/VNA)

Clean industrial land funds in Ho Chi Minh City are still limited, affecting the ability to attract large-scale and high-tech investment. Automation in production in Ho Chi Minh City is still low, and labor productivity in many enterprises is only 60% compared to the average of developed industrial cities.

Some manufacturing enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City are still backward and not ready to adapt to the trends of digital transformation, green and sustainable industry.

Especially in the context of the US imposing taxes on many export items from Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City needs to promote innovation, enhance competitiveness and product quality to adapt flexibly.

“Clear roles and functions” for the new generation industry as a leading pillar

According to expert Do Thien Anh Tuan from the Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management, if the new Ho Chi Minh City wants to become the key industrial driving force of the South, there must be a clear division of functions between the three areas.

The Ho Chi Minh City area is the center for research and development of industry, innovation, and technology commercialization, where research institutes, technology startups, industrial laboratories, and big data centers are located.

The Binh Duong area is a smart production belt, focusing on developing new-generation industrial parks, supporting industries, semiconductor manufacturing, precision mechanics, and automation.

The Ba Ria-Vung Tau area plays the role of a logistics center, heavy industry, and clean energy, with a deep-water seaport cluster, gas power plants, basic chemicals, and international logistics services.

Container loading and unloading activities at Tan Cang-Cai Mep International Port. (Photo: Vu Sinh/VNA)

“To develop industry in the new Ho Chi Minh City, it is first necessary to develop existing industries with strengths, especially key industries and those with conditions to produce technology-intensive products with high added value,” said Dr. Nguyen Thanh Trong from the Eastern International University.

To solve the bottlenecks hindering industrial development and orient the development of Ho Chi Minh City’s industry towards 2030, with a vision towards 2050; Dr. Nguyen Thanh Trong from the Eastern International University proposed to shape the industrial development space to promote the potential and advantages of the new Ho Chi Minh City.

The space and land fund for industrial development of the new Ho Chi Minh City has been significantly expanded, creating new room for industrial development. The development of new-generation industrial parks, according to green, smart, ecological criteria, and associated with urban development, needs to be given special attention in shaping the industrial and urban development space of the new Ho Chi Minh City.

Next is Ho Chi Minh City focusing on investing in the development of connecting traffic infrastructure to create a driving force for the development of key industries in the South.

The system of infrastructure and services supporting industrial development in the new Ho Chi Minh City has been basically formed, with favorable conditions to invest in connecting smoothly to promote the development of a new generation of industries.

Routes such as National Highway 13, which connects Binh Duong with Ho Chi Minh City, My Phuoc-Tan Van, which connects Binh Duong-Ho Chi Minh City-Dong Nai, and the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway, connecting the eastern production area of Ho Chi Minh City to Cai Mep port.

Key traffic projects are being invested in, such as Ring Road 3, Ring Road 4, Ho Chi Minh City-Thu Dau Mot-Chon Thanh expressway, Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressway, and Ho Chi Minh City-Moc Bai expressway, forming important connections between production areas and seaports and border gates, thereby attracting more and more new-generation industrial projects to the new Ho Chi Minh City, shared Dr. Nguyen Thanh Trong from the Eastern International University.

Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, Nguyen Loc Ha, said that modern industry, innovation, and new-generation industry must be the pillar leading Ho Chi Minh City into a new era of development.

To soon overcome the limitations and challenges and turn potential into reality, Ho Chi Minh City needs to continue to promote the role of linking the “three houses” – the state, schools, and businesses – to create a breakthrough driving force.

“In the new context, Ho Chi Minh City proposes an orientation to transform the development model of a new generation of industries towards the application of high technology, smart production, the development of green industry and circular economy, the upgrading of value chains, and the building of an ecosystem of innovation associated with regional linkage,” emphasized Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Loc Ha.

Nguyen Van Viet

– 11:01 24/08/2025